Israel’s Spanish envoy faces verbal anti-Semitism

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s ambassador to Spain came under verbal anti-Semitic attack as he walked home from a soccer match in Madrid.

Three fans followed Rafi Shotz calling him "dirty Jew," "Jew bastard" and "Jew murderer," according to Israeli reports. The attackers likely recognized Shotz from his many Spanish television appearances during Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

Two Spanish police escorted Shotz and his wife to prevent physical harm. Many bystanders witnessed the incident but no one stepped in, according to the reports.

"It was an ugly incident, the kind one hears about or reads about in a newspaper, but to experience personally the force of hatred and anti-Semitism is difficult and emotionally charged," Shotz told the Israeli daily Ha’aretz.

An official from the Spanish Foreign Ministry and the Spanish ambassador in Israel called Shotz to apologize, according to Ha’aretz.